William Waldorf Astor III, 4th Viscount Astor (born 27 December 1951) is an English businessman and politician who sits as a Conservative

hereditary Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...

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in the

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. He is a member of the Astor family, which is known for its prominence in business, society, and politics in both the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and the

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Biography

Astor was a

Lord-in-waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

(a House of Lords whip) from 1990 to 1993. He was then made a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the

Department of Social Security The Department of Social Security (DSS) was a governmental agency in the United Kingdom from 1988 to 2001. The old abbreviation is still often used informally. Advertisements for rented accommodation used to describe prospective tenants who wou ...

. In 1994, he moved to the

Department of National Heritage , type = Department , logo = Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport logo.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = Gove ...

where he served until leaving the government in 1995. He was a member of the Founding Council of the

Rothermere American Institute The Rothermere American Institute is a department of the University of Oxford dedicated to the interdisciplinary and comparative study of the United States of America and its place in the world. Named after the Harmsworth family, Viscounts Roth ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. Viscount Astor is Chairman of

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and director of Networkers Plc (since 2007) and trustee of Stanley Spencer Gallery in Cookham.

Political positions

Astor was an early opponent of the

HS2 High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway line in England, the first phase of which is under construction in stages and due for completion between 2029 and 2033, depending on approval for later stages. The new line will run from its m ...

high-speed rail project.

Marriage and children

Astor married Annabel Lucy Veronica Jones (born 1948), daughter of Timothy Angus Jones and Patricia David Pandora Clifford on 14 January 1976. They have three children: *

Hon Hon or HON may refer to: People * Han (surname) (Chinese: 韩/韓), also romanized Hon * Louis Hon (1924–2008), French footballer * Priscilla Hon (born 1998), Australian tennis player Other uses * Hon (Baltimore), a cultural stereotype of ...

Flora Katherine Astor (born 7 June 1976). She is married to Theo Rycroft. They have three children: Nelson (born 2008), Pandora (born 2011) and Lydia (born 2016). * Hon William Waldorf "Will" Astor IV (born 18 January 1979). He is married to Lohralee Stutz. They have four children: William Waldorf (born 2012), Allegra Annabel (born 2013), Conrad Charles (born 2016) and India Isabel (born 2017). * Hon James Jacob "Jake" Astor (born 4 March 1981). He is married to Victoria L. Hargreaves. They have two children: Sibyl (born 2015) and Atalanta (born 2017). The heir to the viscountcy is his elder son, Will. His wife Annabel's stepfather was his uncle

Michael Langhorne Astor The Hon. Michael Langhorne Astor (10 April 1916 – 28 February 1980) was a British Conservative Party politician. Early life Michael Astor was born on 10 April 1916. He was the fourth child of Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor, and Nancy Wit ...

. Viscountess Astor was previously married to Sir Reginald Sheffield, 8th Baronet by whom she is the mother of Samantha Cameron, wife of former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

Arms

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Astor, William Astor, 4th Viscount 1951 births Living people

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

Livingston family Conservative Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act People educated at Eton College Viscounts Astor